Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
The OCD Soapbox
DM27:
Well, now I had to go and register so I can add my two cents...
Couple of points:
1) OCD = obsessive/compulsive behavior that intereferes with the ability of a patient to perform their normal activities. OC Traits are similar symptoms that are not bad enough to interefere with life to any significant degree.
2) Many people have OC traits. Most "type A" people have some degree of this quality. Most physicians have some degree of it, which is useful if it means they are very detail oriented and are less likely to miss a lab result or such that may make a difference.
3) Some of the stuff people have listed actually sound more like Tourette's syndrome. OCD and Tourette's syndrome often go hand-in-hand, as ~40% of Tourette's patients have OCD as well. Basically, Tourette's simply means you have at least one motor tic, at least one vocal tic (throat-clearing, sniffling, etc.), both of which last for more than a few months, and it started prior to age 18.
4) People with psychiatric conditions often smoke. It actually may be a form of self-medication, especially in bipolar and schizophrenic patients.
In case you're wondering, I'm actually a neurologist, and have seen (and treated) many people with Tourette's (less with pure OCD, they tend to see psychiatrists, first). I have a patient who strikes me as very similar to Hannelore, so the depiction is actually very realistic (although people with OCD can vary quite a bit).
Finity4:
To expand on the point our esteemed neurologist has made...
OCD is much the same as psychological disorders around the world: you cannot classify any two cases as exactly the same, for the simple reason that no two people are exactly the same. I find it entirely believable that someone could have a case of OCD much like hannelore's, while another peon from seattle would have something completely different. Yes, many people who suffer from OCD or Tourette's share similar symptoms and compulsions (washing hands, etc.) but that does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that all people who suffer from OCD must have the same traits.
On a side note, for those who truly suffer from OCD, I'd hate to think all this speculating and conjecture in any way offends them - we're just a bunch of tards splitting hairs over a cool comic.
RJHertz:
A great book on this topic is Just Checking by Emily Colas.
This is the summary from the publisher: Hip, humorous, and honest, this is the first first-person account of living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In it, Colas explains the minutiae of day-to-day life with OCD -- endless, looping fears about pills, garbage, restaurant food, everything -- and how her phobias grew until they all but called her life to a halt.
Mal42:
--- Quote from: Skrattybones on 25 Mar 2007, 18:31 ---keltic:
Comedians also say that 85% of all statistics are made up.
--- End quote ---
i think that about the same percentage of fake people on the internet :P
but i'm sure everyone heres cool.
a few of my mates have some serious OCD's, they dont let it get them down, and keep on doing things, trying to fight back at it. ones even stopped her meds and is now concentrating on beating it themself. i have several mild disorders - bipolar and a disasociative disorder, only one OCD however. i go mad if i cant touch my hair. :oops:
Blind_Io:
I know that this has been pretty well covered, but I thought I could contribute a clinical perspective.
The essential features of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (not to be confused with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder) are recurrent obsessions or compulsions that are severe enough to be time consuming (more than 1 hour a day) or cause marked distress or significant impairment. At some point in the disorder, the person has recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable.
Obsessions are persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress. There is a sense that the obsessions are alien and not within the person's control or not emanating from the person's own mind. The most common obsessions are repeated thoughts about contamination, repeated doubts, a need to have things in a particular order, aggressive or horrific impulses, and sexual imagery. These thoughts are not related to real-life problems such as work or school. A person with these obsessions normally tries to suppress, ignore or neutralize them through some other thought or action - this is a compulsion. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts the goal of which is to prevent or reduce anxiety or distress (not provide pleasure or gratification). The most common compulsions involve cleaning, washing, checking, requesting or demanding assurances, repeating actions or ordering.
Adults, by definition, have some insight into the disorder and its negative impact, however, this criteria does not apply
The onset of OCD is typically in adolescence or early adulthood, however it can be diagnosed in children. Onset for males tends to be earlier than females with males' onset between 6 and 15 years and females' onset between 20 and 29 years. The early onset of OCD in the comic would not bode well for treatment and prognosis, although it appears that since it was caught early and with the help of parents seeking treatment Hanners is doing well. For the most part, onset is gradual, but acute onset has been noted in some cases. Most individuals demonstrate a persistent and chronic waxing and waning of symptoms over time. About 15% of people with OCD show progressive deterioration and occupational and personal difficulties related to the symptoms. About 5% have an episodic course with minimal or no symptoms between episodes. Hanners does not seem to fall into either of these groups, but demonstrates the chronic pattern.
With therapy and anti-anxiety medication, the symptoms of OCD can be managed. Hanners has been in therapy since age 11, which indicates both the severity of onset and symptoms (and also prognosis). However, she appears to be functional for the most part with minimal impairment on social functioning. She has adapted by choosing work that not only minimizes her exposure to stressors but actually serves the compulsion of counting. Her insight seems quite remarkable and while we don't know the obsessive side of her (other than contamination, but I suspect there is more), I would say she is actually doing quite well and the portrayal of OCD in Hanners is clinically feasible. There are a few anomalies, but in Psychology everyone is an anomaly; there is no such thing as a "text book case" there are only text-book case presentations.
I hope this has been somewhat helpful. I would be happy to expand on anything that is unclear.
Sources Referenced: Class notes and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV - Text Revision.
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